Maria Anna Vasa

What people wore

Valuable Noblewoman's Clothing

Seventeenth-century noblewomen's wills show that items like fur-lined coats, velvet dresses, and specific headgear such as caps and wimples were vital assets, sometimes valued higher than silver or jewelry.

Daily life

Wood construction and indoor smoke management

Peasant homes were often smoky huts where smoke escaped through holes in the roof, while some wealthier urban houses had dedicated kitchens and fireplaces. Ordinary dwellings were constructed primarily of wood, which was available in abundance.

Work

Emergency labor sessions called tłoki

For mandatory labor during harvest or plowing, peasants were sometimes summoned to tłoki, emergency work sessions compensated only with a meal.

Music

Portable organ for street processions

For the Corpus Christi procession, strong men were hired to carry a portable organ, known as a pozytyw, from station to station to accompany music in the streets. In 1674, the cost recorded for carrying the pozytyw was 18 grana.

At the table

Mandatory alcohol consumption for peasants

Common people were forced by law to buy and consume specific amounts of alcohol, such as vodka or beer, from their local lord. This practice was sometimes described as conditioning them into addiction.

Getting around

Average daily travel distance

Travel speeds were generally slow, with people on foot covering 20–25 kilometers per day and horse-drawn carriages covering 25–30 kilometers daily.

What it cost

Cost of Footwear in the 17th Century

The price of a pair of shoes fluctuated throughout the century, reaching 15.8 units in 1651 and 13.2 units in 1661.